Police in Bolgatanga gun down suspected armed robber - Stephen Atia

correspondence from upper east


A suspected armed robber, who is part of a robbery syndicate terrorizing residents of Bolgatanga in the Upper East Regional capital, has been gunned down.

The suspect, Stephen Atia, was shot by police on August 8, 2021, at an undisclosed suburb of Bolgatanga where he was leading police to a hideout to apprehend other

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According to the police, Stephen Atia, while leading the team of police officers tried to escape from lawful custody at a point, but was hit by police warning shots.

The police said the suspect and his syndicate headed by a wanted notorious armed robber, Asampana Ayine, are responsible for a series of robberies in Bolgatanga and its environs.

The police stated that the syndicate targets owners of motorcycles who they terrorize and rob of their valuables.

The Upper East Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Fianko-Okere, who confirmed the incident to GhanaWeb, said the police in Bolgatanga, acting on intelligence, corded a hotel facility where some suspected robbers were reported to be hiding.

He said the suspected robbers, including Asampana Ayine, who has been on the police wanted list, upon learning of the police presence at the facility managed to abscond. One suspect- Stephen Atia, was however apprehended.

ASP Fianko-Okyere further said that the arrested suspect who was helping the police identify some hideouts of where they had hidden most of their stolen goods, tried to get away by jumping over a wall but was incapacitated by police who shot in his direction.

ASP Fianko said the suspect was later pronounced dead at a health facility where he had been taken to for medical care for the injuries. He added that a female suspected to be an accomplice is in the custody of the police helping with investigations.

“We had some information that the suspects were in a certain hotel at a location I can’t give holding a meeting of some sort. Those suspects included Ayine who has been on the police wanted list for some time now. But when we moved there, they managed to escape but we were able to arrest one of them which is Stephen Atia.

Suspect Stephen then led the police to a hideout in the municipality. But as the police got to the place, the suspect tried to get away by jumping over a wall but he was hit by the police who shot in the same direction he took”. ASP Fianko-Okyere confirmed.